Die construction



June 28, 1955 w. E. CAREY ETAL 2,711,604

DIE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1954 A Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 William E Carey Hiram M. Taylor INVENTORS June 28, 1955 E- cA E Y T 2,711,604

DIE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 20 L Fig. 2

8/ go) 0 o 24 r Fig.3

William E. Caiey Hiram W.- Taylor INVENTORJ BY M /QM:

DIE CONSTRUCTION William E. Carey, Kansas City, Mo., and Hiram W. Taylor, Kansas City, Kans.; said Taylor assignor to said Carey Application August 30, 1954, Serial No. 453,094

2 Claims. (Cl. 41-1) This invention relates to improvements in machines for attaching simulated pearls on garment material, and has for its primary object the provision of mechanism by means of which the attaching operation may be materially expedited.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved die construction for use in attaching simulated pearls togarment material wherein a simulated pearl will be held in proper position until such time as the attaching operation is to take place, at which time upon attachment of the pearl to the garment material, the pearl will be removed from the die and another pearl automatically substituted in its place.

Still another object of this invention resides in the improved die construction which permits the simulated pearls to be held in the upper die member rather than in the lower die member, as is normally the case, so that the work of properly placing the pearl will be greatly expedited and will obviate the necessity for any markings on certain types of garment material to indicate the proper placement of the pearls.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved die construction;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the feed tube assembly;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the improved die construction;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the improved die construction; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing the manner in which a simulated pearl is attached to fabric or garment material.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the reference numerals and 12 indicate, respectively, a die pedestal and a die head which are of entirely conventional construction and which are suitably mounted in any convenient and conventional manner for movement toward and away from each other, the members being shown in spaced apart relation in Figure 1. The construction of the members 10 and 12 and their associated mechanism and the operating mechanism for imparting the movement of these members toward and away from each other forms no part whatsoever of this invention and it is to be understood that they are entirely conventional in nature.

The pedestal 10 mounts a conventional male die member 14 having an upwardly projecting point 16, the operation of which will be presently apparent, and the die head 12 carries the upper die member, indicated generally by the reference character 18, which may conveniently take the form of an elongated plunger 20 having a depression or recess 22 in its lower end which receives the simulated pearl in a manner' which will be presently apparent.

nited States Patent 0 2,711,604 Patented June 28, 1955 A vacuum line 24 and a feed tube member 26 are both rigidly secured to the die member 18 at the lower end portion thereof and in communication with the recess 22, this communication between the feed tube 26 and the recess 22 being most clearly apparent from a study of Figure 2. The communication between the vacuum tube and the recess 22 is similar to the construction shown in Figure 2, and the specific connection therebetween is not, in any event, of such critical nature that many variations cannot be made therein. Since during normal production, the vacuum tube 24 and the feed tube 26 will be secured to the die member 18 by such means as would not withstand any great pressure or vibration without breaking, a support block member 28 is provided which is of generally L-shaped configuration for the sake of convenience only, and one leg of which is provided with an aperture through which the plunger 20 projects, securement between the plunger 20 and the support block 28 being effected by a setscrew member 30 in a manner which will be clearly apparent. The other, or vertical, leg of the supporting block 28 receives and supports the feed tube member 26 and this leg of the support block may also support the vacuum tube, although a bracket 32 is shown for this purpose.

The vacuum tube 24 is connected to any suitable source of continuous vacuum such as the flexible line 34 and the feed tube 26 is provided with a laterally bent vertical portion 36 which communicates with a central portion of a tray member 38 whose bottom 40 is dished toward the center thereof, the tray being adapted to receive a supply of simulated'pearls for continuous feeding into the supply tube member 26 and the die recess 22.

A heater assembly, indicated generally by the reference character 42, is secured in any suitable manner to a portion of the feed tube 26 closely adjacent the die plunger 20 and, as will be seen most clearly in Figure 2, this heater includes a heating element 44 disposed closely adjacent the feed tube 26 such that a rapid heat transfer will be effected therebetween. An electric conduit 46 extends to the heater assembly 42 and is connected therewith in such a manner that the switch element 48 controls the supply of current to the heater element 44 by manipulation of the control knob 50. In this respect, it may be desirable to construct the heater assembly 42 in such a manner as to be able to control the heat intensity or rate of heat transfer by means of the control knob 50. In any event, the heater assembly 42 per se forms no part of this invention and is not claimed as such.

In operation of the device, it will be seen that the continuous source of vacuum which educts air through the vacuum tube 24 will hold a simulated pearl within the die recess 22 until such time as the hereinafter described attaching operation takes place. As soon as one simulated pearl is removed from the recess, the next pearl in line within the tube 26 will be ejected into the recess and held therein under the action of the air flow caused by the vacuum tube 24.

As will be seen most clearly in Figure 5, the simulated pearl consists of a hard inner core 52 and an outer layer or covering 54 of thermosetting plastic material which is so manufactured as to simulate the color and texture of a pearl. As the simulated pearls remain resting in the feed tube member 26, the heater member 42 softens the outer layer 54 thereof such that this layer is pliant when the simulated pearls reach the die recess 22. Thereafter, when the fabric or garment material 56 is placed upon the pin or projection 16 on the lower die member 14, and the die members move toward each other, the pin 16 will press the fabric 56 upwardly into the outer layer 54, which is pliant, and will embed the fabric therein such as to attach the pearl thereto. Then, when the die members are moved apart, the pearl thus attached will fall away from the recess 22 with the fabric.

It will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this particular construction or" die assembly will materially enhance and expedite the placement of simulated pearls on garment material or fabric by virtue of the fact that the placement thereof is exact and may easily follow an existing pattern on the material without the placement of an auxiliary or guide pattern on the material which is necessary during normal simulated pearl attaching processes. In this respect, it is to be understood that normally the simulated pearls are received in a die member similar to the member 18 above described but which is provided in the lower or die pedestal 16 such that the fabric must be inverted upon this die member to effect the attachment of the pearls to the proper side thereof. This, of course, does not permit the operator to see precisely where the pearl is being attached unless the pattern of the fabric shows through on the back side thereof, or unless an auxiliary guide pattern is dusted or chalked or painted on the back side of the material, as is often necessary. The pin 1.6 is of rather small dimensions and will permit the fabric to be precisely located at that point at which the simulated pearl is desired to be attached, whereas normally, the material is inverted directly on the simulated pearl and, in any case, the placement of the pearls is not concise nor conducive to rapid operation.

' From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a machine for applying artificial pearls, upper and lower die members, said die members being mounted for movement toward and away from each other, said upper die member having an artificial pearl receiving recess therein, a feed tube communicating with the recess in said upper die, and a vacuum tube communicating with said recess for holding an artificial pearl therein.

2. In a machine for applying artificial pearls, upper and lower die members, said die members being mounted for movement toward and away from each other, said upper die member having an artificial pearl receiving recess and said bottom die member including a point projectible into said recess when the die members are moved toward each other, a feed tube communicating with said recess, an artificial pearl receiving tray secured to and communieating with said feed tube, a heater element in contact with said feed tube adjacent said upper die member, and a vacuum tube communicating with said recess for retaining an artificial pearl therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,968,774 Maier May 16, 1933 2,374,034 Nichols Apr. 17, 1945 2,641,298 Kinnear June 9, 1953 2,684,775 Von Hofe July 27, 1954 

